NOM can’t hide their donors in Minnesota

July 06, 2011

By Katie Garcia, Freedom to Marry's Communications Intern

Last Thursday, the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board ruled organizations advocating for or against marriage in the state had to disclose all major corporate donors. While this new policy will show who are the movers and shakers behind the scenes, Minnesota’s current disclosure laws have already painted an interesting picture of how the major groups fighting against the freedom to marry are paying their bills.

The Minnesota Independent has done some digging into the lobbying reports, campaign finance filings and foundation tax records already publicly disclosed. They found that the three major groups behind the initiative to place a constitutional ban on marriage in Minnesota are funded primarily by prominent individuals pledging larges sums of money for the cause.

The major organizations pushing to constitutionally ban the freedom to marry are the Minnesota Family Council, Minnesota for Marriage (run by the Minnesota Family Council), the Minnesota Catholic Conference, and Minnesota Citizens in Defense of Marriage. According to Andy Birkey, all of these organizations receive the majority of their funding from large donors. To read the full article on this, click here.

As the battle for the freedom to marry wages in Minnesota and in our nation, it is important to remember where the public lies in the debate. ABC/CNN polls show that majority of American citizens are support the freedom to marry. So while these organizations may be pushing hard to ban marriage between same-sex couples in Minnesota, Freedom to Marry is going to make sure that the voice of the majority is heard and will prevail in Minnesota and throughout the nation.

Freedom to Marry was the campaign to win marriage nationwide. With the Supreme Court victory on June 26, 2015, the work of this strategic campaign – though not the larger movement – was achieved, and Freedom to Marry wound down its operations, closing in early 2016. For inquiries, please email legacy@freedomtomarry.org.